This may turn out to be just a quick photo test. I hope it works. These are some flies I turned the heads using the ole dremel technique.
ridderbos, you got way more patience than me…great work.
Are those Mustad hooks? Do you like’em?
…lee s.
PS - Interesting bugs. 
yes those are mustad stinger hooks. I like them, never had a problem with them.
john
Great looking bugs John.
You should come to SowBug and make those.
Rick
Great job! Have you tried to cast any of them? Just wondering if you experienced any trouble with the tail length fouling or hanging up on the eyes.
I have not tried to cast them yet. Our water is still quite frozen. I will be using my eight weight, even though they are quite light. I dont think the material will foul, it is relatively course material.
I know it’s fun playing with tool’s. But, I have been looking at the same pre-made foam and simular flies at [url=http://www.rainysflies.com:1ac01]www.rainysflies.com[/url:1ac01]
I am still using mostly deer hair for my pike flies but, may try some foam this year.
that is where I got my shape inspiration from. Nobody around here sells rainy’s , and I am sure it cost me less to make them than what they would sell them for.
I will probably be adding weedguards to them before I fish them, that should help in keeping the tails from fouling too.
ridderbos3,
IF you should find you have problems with the Mustads, Tiemco 8089’s seem a good replacement for our stuff. Early on we had problems with the stinger hooks losing fish (bass) in the weeds. May have been a bad batch?
We now use the Tiemco’s for that stuff (bass, stripers, and pike), especially if the targets are sub 20#. Oops…except albacore. We have had them straighten tiemcos, 20# or not!
…lee s.
John
Those are some danged good-looking flies! Foam on a dremel is quite a medium for fly tying and you are doing well at it indeed.
RRhyne56
[url=http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com:0120f]http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com[/url:0120f]
IM = robinrhyne@hotmail.com
Hey John,
Good looking kritters. I’ll bet the
toothy kritters love them. Good luck. Jim
Yea…nobody has the Rainy’s foam around here either. I am not sure which mail order companys do ?
After I use up some more of my belly hair I am going to try foam for my Pike flies for awhile. Beside the divers fished on a sink tip, I really like those multi cone flies for pushing water & movement.
Lee S.
The Tiemco 8089 is almost exactly the same hook, as to shape and wire diameter, as the Mustad Sproat Hook (3366? or is the 3399? whichever one is the straight eyed hook). The Tiemcos are sized odd, so the size numbers won’t match, but it’s functionally the same hook.
I’ve used both for bass topwaters, and frankly prefer the Mustad. They ARE much less costly, and I’ve found the Tiemcos to be a bit brittle in the larger sizes.
Anyway, just an option if you are tying a lot of these. May save you some bucks.
Good Luck!
Buddy
[url=HTTP://HOMETOWN.AOL.COM/RSAN2708/INDEX.HTML:0308f]HTTP://HOMETOWN.AOL.COM/RSAN2708/INDEX.HTML[/url:0308f]
Ridderbos3:
What size plug cutter did you use to cut out those large sized plugs?
Nice flies!
Have fun,
George
3/4 inch
Those are really neat bugs. Would you answer a couple of questions for me. What type foam are you using? I’m assuming the multicolored ones are from laminated disks, is that right? Are you turning the shape, then cutting the bottom off flat? I’ve read the article on foam turning on the dremel, just haven’t tried it yet. Very nice, and very interesting.
All of the foam came from sleazy steves
[url=http://www.jvlnet.com/~swinters/:530e0]http://www.jvlnet.com/~swinters/[/url:530e0]
You can laminates sheets together though in any color combination you want and do the same thing. I cut the 3/4 inch plug and then turned the general symmetrical shape on the dremel lathe. After I turned all my bodies I disassemble the dremel lathe and chuck a sanding drum in the dremel and just shape the bottoms making sure to leave plenty of material for the hook shank to still be concealed in the body.
Thanks for the link. Do you use his plug cutters and if so, do you find the drilled hole in the plug is beneficial in both chucking up on the tool and in putting the body on the hook? Do you find the 3/4 plug to be the best size?
I do not use his cutters. I use hollow punches that I bought on ebay. Jim hatch can provide a link to harbor freight with the same set. I used 3/4 because it was the biggest I had. I was experimenting with the shape and wanted to be able to work from a bigger canvas so to speak. In the future though I will still use that size, it worked out the best for the shapes I did.
Steves cutters have the drill in the center that I do not care for at all. IT would not be very condusive to using the dremel lathe. It works thought if you use his arbor and sandpaper instead of the needle and dremel.
john